JACKSON — The Oak Forest Academy (La.) football team’s dream season started on opening night.
“We beat a team we lost to opening night the year before,” Oak Forest senior linebacker Collin Kent said. “For the seniors, we knew that meant the season was going to be different. We had worked so hard during the offseason. We saw that hard work pay off and everybody was excited.”
Oak Forest avenged a narrow loss to Silliman Institute in 2013 with a 30-6 road win on Aug. 22.
The senior-laden Yellow Jackets squad thought this year could be special. It was that much needed lift on opening night which set the stage for a miracle season.
Oak Forest won 12 of 13 games played and will play Starkville Academy at 2 p.m. Saturday at Robinson-Hale Stadium on the Mississippi College campus in Clinton for the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II state championship.
“Everything really fell in place for this team,” Oak Forest senior wingback/defensive back Dylan Dover said. “We know how hard it is to win a championship. We worked as hard as is humanly possible. We finished (7-6) last season, and we felt like there was so much more we could do.”
Oak Forest senior offensive and defensive lineman Chris Carter has a healthy smile and an outgoing personality. He said the team’s championship appearance was earned through hard work during the summer.
“Everybody came early, everybody stayed later,” Carter said. “Hardly anyone missed a workout. Even when it was optional work, everybody was there. The seniors have been together a long time. We made a dedicated effort to make one final push together. It is has gotten us this far.”
Oak Forest Academy, which is located in Amite, Louisiana, which is about halfway between New Orleans and Jackson, won its first 10 games before a 37-20 loss at Jackson Prep. The Yellow Jackets led 20-7 at halftime.
“We really grew a lot from the Jackson Prep game,” Oak Forest senior quarterback/free safety Tyler Hasson said. “We learned a little bit about finishing. We found out how important that is. We felt like that was a game we could have won, and should have won. But after the loss, we came out determined to make sure we didn’t have that type of game again.”
Oak Forest Academy nailed down first place in the Division II standings with a 42-7 win at Lamar School. The postseason began with a 13-0 home win against Magnolia Heights.
“Beating Magnolia Heights gave us even more confidence,” Oak Forest senior lineman Blake Henry said. “We set the goal at the beginning of the season of playing for the state championship. When you reach that game, it is exciting for everybody.”
Junior Kaylin Stewart leads Oak Forest with 1,875 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns. Hasson has run for 1,184 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has thrown for 666 yards and five touchdowns.
Junior linebacker Bransen Schwebel (104 tackles) leads a defense that is giving up a little more than 10 points per game.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
